


Impurrfect

by Spunky0ne



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-02-10
Packaged: 2018-03-08 21:04:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3223382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spunky0ne/pseuds/Spunky0ne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a ritual to repopulate the noble clans goes awry, leaving Tetsuya mistakenly impregnated by eighteen-year-old Prince Shihoin Yuushiro, it is all Ichigo and Byakuya can do to try to protect the two from the wrath of the Noble's General Council while also managing their emerging feelings for each other...Ichigo/Byakuya, Yuushiro/Tetsuya, yaoi, mpreg</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Duty

_In the wake of the war with the quincies, the clan leaders and heirs are required to participate in a ritual of procreation. Byakuya and Ichigo hesitantly accept their duty, while eighteen-year-old Shihoin Yuushiro takes a drastic action that lands him in a chamber with lovely half-blood, Kuchiki Tetsuya by mistake. What will happen when the full moon activates the enchantment? Only time will tell! Ichigo/Byakuya and Yuushiro/Tetsuya main pairings, yaoi, mpreg._

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 1: Duty

Tetsuya's dark, sapphire eyes watched quietly as Byakuya's attendant slowly removed the clan leader's hair decorations, sliding the expensive pieces out of the satin strands, then slid the white haori off of his shoulders and hung it carefully to the side of where they stood in the dressing area. His gaze reverent and slightly saddened, he pulled the fingerless glove from each pale hand, then removed and set aside each piece of the heir's shihakushou. The attendant paused for a moment, his hand trembling slightly as he picked up the plain white yukata. Byakuya's smoky eyes caught his for a moment and the clan leader gave him a bracing look.

"It is all right, Torio," he assured the young man, "Please continue."

"I understand his reticence," Tetsuya confessed softly, "I feel the same. I cannot imagine that we have reached a time like this, watashi no itoko, where such methods are needed to ensure our survival."

Byakuya sighed and his eyes nearly closed for a moment.

"I think we all have our reservations, but even so, we also understand that our bodies, minds and hearts belong to the soul king. He gives us a place of honor among souls and we must honor him with our obedience. How may we do that if we allow our kind to die out? And how can we maintain the power gifted to us if we do not continue? None of us desire this, but all are aware of the necessity."

"But won't it be awkward, sir?" Torio asked in a trembling voice, "If not before or during, then afterwards?"

"We will all take the elixir before engaging in the ritual," Byakuya explained, "so we will be partially sedated and not terribly distressed. We don't know who our partners will be, but it will be documented. And at least we will not be forced to marry, only to provide at least one heir for each of our clans."

"But Byakuya-sama, there are more males than females in the upper ranks," Torio noted anxiously.

Byakuya glanced briefly at Tetsuya.

"The male couples will receive a second elixir created to mimic the natural male breeder ability like that which Tetsuya has. They will then form a reiatsu chamber and be able to carry a child's reiatsu in their bodies."

"It is not an unpleasant thing to carry a child," Tetsuya said soothingly, his eyes clouding with memory, "For a breeder male, the symptoms are not so pronounced as a female's. And our abdomens do not have to become overly large, because the child remains in reiatsu form until it has emerged from the body."

He paused for a moment, absently touching his slim belly with one hand.

"And the bonding between the parents and child is...warm...and beautiful."

"Tetsuya?" Byakuya whispered, noting the tear that had leaked from his cousin's eye.

The younger Kuchiki quickly turned away.

"Please excuse me, Byakuya-sama. I will meet you at the front gates when you are ready," he said, flash stepping away before Byakuya could answer.

Torio looked sadly in the direction he had gone.

"I am sorry, Byakuya-sama. I didn't mean to upset him. I..."

"I know," Byakuya assured the younger man, "It isn't your fault. There are wounds Tetsuya carries upon his heart that take a long time to heal."

"It's ridiculous that he was excluded from the ritual," Torio mused, "I know he is not of pure blood, but he is half noble and very powerful! Surely if you..."

"I would not have wanted Tetsuya involved in this. While it is true that he is powerful and he is a model of noble conduct, Tetsuya was damaged inside when he lost his first child. It would be dangerous for him. That is why I did not question the decision of the Noble's General Council to exclude him, as well as the other half-bloods from the ritual."

"Ah, I suppose you are right," the attendant said, fastening the tie at Byakuya's waist, "but it is sad because it's hurting him."

"I understand, however, Tetsuya does not need something like this. What our cousin needs is to find love again. This is not love, it is our duty and a show of our humility and obedience."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Yuushiro-sama!" called a young, dark haired male Shihoin youth, looking around as he entered the leader's bedroom.

He shifted to the form of a large, silvery Russian Gray feline and flashed about the room, peeking under the bed, behind the curtains, and in each dark corner before returning to the center of the room and shifting back to shinigami form.

"Yuushiro-sama, you're going to get me into trouble! Please, master, you know that you have to go any minute. I must dress you now. Yuushiro-sama!"

He paused and made a sound of surprise as a feminine laugh seeped in through the door and Yoruichi appeared suddenly in the doorway.

"Yoruichi-sama!" the attendant squeaked, nearly reverting to cat form.

"Take it easy, little one," she chuckled, patting the boy on the head, "I'll find the little rascal for you. Hmmm, not in the closet, huh?"

"No, Yoruichi-sama."

"Or behind the curtains or under the bed?"

"No. I've looked everywhere and I can't find him! I'm going to be in trouble if he isn't on time!"

"I told you to stop worrying," Yoruichi laughed, tilting her head slightly and indicating a large statue on a high shelf that seemed to have grown a fluffy tail around it's base, "Come on out, Yuushiro-chan. You're not fooling anyone, hiding up there so poorly."

"R-rowlrrrr, aw, Nee-san, can't you pretend you didn't see me?" the youth complained.

"Come down here and stop acting like a child," his elder sister chided him, "You are an adult now and you need to start acting like one."

"Well," Yuushiro huffed, poking a whiskered face out from behind the statue, "You're not being arranged to lose your virginity with someone!"

"No," the Shihoin princess laughed, "One of the benefits of being somewhat of an outcast. But it's fine. I'm not the motherly kind."

"Oh go ahead and laugh," the prince turned fishing cat complained, leaping gracefully down from the shelf and turning his large golden eyes on her irascibly, "but I could end up being a mother if...!"

"You won't," Yoruichi assured him with a grin, "The only way that happens is if you are chosen to be paired with a Shiba or a Kuchiki, who rank higher than we do and have an abundance of male candidates, but not female. I am sure they will take your age into consideration and choose a young, gentle girl to be with you. You will be fine, Yuushiro-chan!"

She knelt and curled an arm around the little wildcat's neck, digging gently into the coarse, olive grey fur with her fingers and coaxing a rumbling purr from deep in Yuushiro's feline throat.

"There now, that's it. Just be calm. You know, you aren't the only virgin who is going to this gathering tonight."

"Please don't go telling anyone!" Yuushiro pleaded, his eyes rounding and a strange blush managing to touch even his feline face, "Nee-san!"

"Like they wouldn't know," Yoruichi muttered softly under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, never mind. Come along!" she urged him, watching as he took on his shinigami form and his attendant dashed back to his side to hastily dress him in the required white yukata.

As he stood, contemplating his slender body in the mirror, he frowned thoughtfully.

"Who else is a virgin who is going tonight?" he asked.

Yoruichi gave him a knowing smirk.

"None that you need to know about, Otouto," she scolded him teasingly, "Now, let's go before they send someone to look for you!"

"I could hide from them," the youth said in an uncharacteristically surly voice, "The one I can't hide from is you."

"Come on!" Yoruichi laughed, shooing him out the door.

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya and Tetsuya paused as they reached the council guard post at the base of the council hall steps.

"Only the chosen and their attendants are allowed beyond this point, sirs," the guard said respectfully.

"Tetsuya is attending me," Byakuya said, nodding in his cousin's direction.

"Very well," the guard replied, "Up the steps and down the hall to your right, sirs."

Tetsuya followed Byakuya silently up the steps and down the right hand corridor, then past another guard to a large gathering room where hundreds of yukata clad noble males and females anxiously waited. The room was nearly full by the time the doors were closed, and the grand councilor of the Noble's General Council called the meeting to order.

"My brothers and sisters," he said warmly, "I know we are all grateful to have survived the holocaust wrought by the quincies, and all of us here have already proven ourselves loyal servants of the king. But the new incarnation our lord Reio has a great need that we must yet fulfill. Many were lost in the battles...many young and old, male and female, of every clan. Because of this, the number of us who stand ready to defend our king has fallen to a critical level. The only way to provide his majesty with strong defenders to prevent a repeat of this war's tragedies, is to bring about more young to swell our numbers. We of the grand council are very aware of the task that we lay on your shoulders, and many of us still young enough to bring forth life, stand among you, ready to do as we ask you to do. This is not a course taken easily, but it is a desperate necessity. All of you have been carefully chosen. Your strength, your powers and your fine quality will build a legacy for the future. We of the grand council wish all of you fruitfulness, happiness and a bright future with the offspring you will bless us with. Now, if you will give your attention to Councilor Fumio, he will direct you to your meeting chambers."

The grey haired grand councilor sat down and a slightly younger councilor with greying black hair took his place in front of the chosen.

"Greetings," Fumio said solemnly, "All of you were given a silver band we placed on your wrist, imprinted with a coded number that was matched with another and assigned to a meeting room. You only need look at the charts being projected to locate your number and room. The rooms have been made comfortable and supplied with food, drink and other comforts you may find useful. In precisely thirty minutes, all attendants will be recalled to the entry and the chambers will be sealed. Skylights will allow the light of the full moon into each chamber and that will release the power of the enchantment. Once within your chamber, swallow the elixir left for you...or if you are a man paired with another man, drink the two elixirs, then wait for the moon to reach the proper position. You should feel no anxiety and when the morning comes, you should have only dull memories of the night. But you will begin serving his majesty in the most precious way...by bringing new life to his clans. May you all be blessed in your efforts."

With no further ceremony, the meeting chamber's doors opened again and the ones within the room filed out into the corridors, following the numbered doors to their chambers.

"Are you all right, Byakuya-sama?" Tetsuya asked, glancing up at his cousin's stoic expression.

"I am fine," Byakuya assured him, "It is perhaps not how I intended to have a child and heir, but I am all right with it. We all must do something to protect our clan's numbers."

"Unless we are unworthy somehow," Tetsuya whispered.

"Pardon?"

"N-nothing," Tetsuya said quickly, "There, Byakuya-sama, your room."

The two proceeded to the door and Byakuya punched his code into the panel beside it. The door clicked and opened readily to his touch, revealing to him that someone else had already entered the room and stood, facing away and looking up through the skylight. The Kuchiki heir's breath caught at the sight of the young man's ginger hair and his all too familiar slender body.

"Ichigo," he breathed in a stunned tone.

The young man turned and gave Byakuya a less than surprised look.

"Byakuya."

"I suppose the choice makes some kind of sense," Byakuya concluded, holding Ichigo's anxious gaze steadily, "However, I find it surprising that you would go along with this."

"Oh?" Ichigo said, smiling very slightly, "Why is that? Do you think I don't know how badly the king needs his protectors?"

"Of course not," Byakuya assured him, his heart catching at the intensity of the younger man's golden brown eyes, "It is just that you are young and of high spirits. I have not known you to be the kind to simply do what duty requires."

"Well," Ichigo chuckled, warming slightly, "No one knows better than me right now the price of not being there for his majesty. His last incarnation was lost because we couldn't be there in time to help him."

"But the new incarnation of the king has stabilized our worlds and you have ended the threat. They might have considered your debts paid," Byakuya suggested.

"Come on, now," Ichigo laughed good-naturedly, "You don't think for a minute that those stuffy old farts are going to let me off without making an heir as soon as possible."

"I thought they might have given you a choice."

Ichigo's eyes struck him light a bolt of lightning and his words weakened the Kuchiki heir's legs beneath him.

"I did have a choice," he confessed, "And I chose you."

Byakuya's dark grey eyes gazed into Ichigo's with deep curiosity.

"You chose _me_?" he repeated, only half believing the words.

"Yeah," Ichigo said, blushing, "Out of everyone, you were the one I knew best, the person I felt the most comfortable doing something like this with. I trust you, and trust is important when a person loses his virginity."

"B-but, wouldn't you prefer to be with a female? She would carry both children. You needn't take such a thing on yourself." Byakuya reminded him, "This way, we both must carry a..."

"Are you saying you're unhappy I chose you?" Ichigo asked, smirking.

"No," Byakuya answered, a light flush invading his fine features, "I don't find the prospect of being with you for our first time objectionable. I just thought that..."

Ichigo's sudden frown stopped him mid-sentence.

" _Our_ first time?" he queried, "You mean my first time, right?"

"No," Byakuya corrected him with an almost shy intonation, "And I am not implying that it will ever happen again. I mean that I am also virginal."

Ichigo's jaw dropped and his eyes blinked in confusion while he struggled for words.

"But...you were married, weren't you?" he asked finally, "To Hisana?"

"Yes," Byakuya confirmed, "Hisana was...a lovely young woman, and my best friend. We did love each other and she agreed to marry me in order to rescue me from an arranged marriage. A marriage to me meant that I could ease her path in life and be close to her. But her health was always a concern, so unbeknownst to the family elders, we never consummated the marriage. I feared impregnating her because it would have shortened her life even more. I am also a virgin, Ichigo."

"Oh kami," Ichigo chuckled, blushing more brightly, "I thought that being with someone who was a friend and a little... _wiser_ would make things easier."

"Do you regret your decision?" Byakuya asked, his expression perfectly serious, "Because you can still change your mind."

"No way," the Shiba heir said, picking up the first elixir and swallowing it, "I stand by my decision. If I have to do this, I want it to be with a friend...a person I trust...someone who is loyal to me."

"I almost killed you," Byakuya whispered, drinking his first elixir.

"I almost killed you," Ichigo said, smiling and picking up the second elixir, "And ever since then, I've known that there isn't anyone whose friendship, whose faith, whose loyalty means so much to me."

Byakuya looked back at him silently as the two swallowed the second elixir.

"I'm glad you feel the same," he whispered, watching as the door behind Byakuya closed and clicked into place.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What are you doing, lurking about?" a deep, mocking voice asked, "Were you hoping that I would sneak you into my chamber instead of the person chosen for me?"

Tetsuya frowned up into his taller cousin's black eyes.

"I was attending Byakuya-sama," he said shortly, "Not that it is any business of yours. I am his personal bodyguard, after all."

"I am aware," his cousin said, moving closer and trapping Tetsuya up against the wall, "There is nothing about you that escapes me...ever."

"Leave me alone, Orochi!" Tetsuya hissed, trying to flash step, then freezing as his cousin's hand wrapped around his upper arm, stopping him, "What are you doing?"

"Don't you want to get in on tonight's festivities?" Orochi said smoothly, "I can hide you in my room and we can be together after I impregnate whoever else they give me."

"Let go of me! You're repulsive!" Tetsuya snapped, tearing away and flash stepping down the hallway.

Fearing that his cousin would follow, he ducked into a room that appeared to have been left vacant and invoked his power, causing his slender body to take on the translucent look of water, then moving into a dark corner to further conceal himself.

Back near Orochi's door, Yuushiro paused and scratched his head, looking from one room to the next in confusion. He looked into the room where the tall, dark haired and stern-eyed man waited, then swallowed hard and backed away.

"I thought Nee-san said they wouldn't give me a man!" he mused, shivering, "And he looks mean! No way am I..."

He looked around, then flash stepped away, failing to notice the room that had actually been noted on his band. His heart in his throat, he ducked into a room with an open door and closed it behind him.

"Hey, this should be my room," a male voice said from outside the door.

"Oh no!" Yuushiro exclaimed, ducking into the shadows and unexpectedly pressing up against Tetsuya's hidden form, "Huh?"

"Shh, please don't say anything!" Tetsuya pleaded, "My cousin was trying to annoy me and I came in here to escape him. I am sorry. I will leave in a..."

"It's all right. There's an extra room here, sirs," said another voice outside the door.

The two young men waited breathlessly until the voices faded.

"I think they've gone," Tetsuya said finally, shedding his waterform and meeting Yuushiro's golden eyes.

Yuushiro froze, a blush roaring over his youthful features as his widened eyes took in the sight of Tetsuya's slender body, bright sapphire eyes and shoulder length, wavy black hair. Sweat broke out on his forehead and he fought to think of something to say. Finding nothing, he nervously backed away.

"Ah...ah, it's all right, ah. I think I'm very thirsty."

He turned towards the table and grabbed one of the small cups, swallowing the pleasant liquid in that, then a second.

"But...that is the...!" Tetsuya tried to warn him.

"Oh!" Yuushiro gulped, looking like a deer caught in a car's headlights.

"I have to go," Tetsuya exclaimed, "before..."

He flash stepped to the door and turned the handle, only to feel it refuse to budge under his fingers. Sucking in a surprised breath, he focused on a waterform that he had placed in his horse's stall back at Kuchiki Manor to use for escape in emergencies, only to find his power somehow blocked.

"My waterform!" he breathed in a shocked tone, "I can't move to it!"

"The ritual has begun," Yuushiro whispered, going pale, "Our powers won't work...and we're stuck in here!"

Tetsuya watched with widened eyes as the Shihoin youth reverted to cat form and zipped around the room, looking desperately for any escape. After several minutes, he noticed the moon moving into position above the opened skylight.

"Oh no!"

"It's all right," Tetsuya assured him, "I didn't drink the elixir. I won't touch you."

"B-but I already feel strange," Yuushiro whispered, his eyes going hazy and fixing eerily on Tetsuya's, "What can we do?"

"I will...I will just..."

Tetsuya froze as the Shihoin youth's eyes seemed to light from within and a dizziness passed through both of them.

"What is happening?" Tetsuya wondered aloud, backing away from the prince, "I didn't drink the elixir, but..."

Yuushiro's handsome golden eyes stared into Tetsuya's and Tetsuya's legs weakened beneath him.

"Oh!" Yuushiro realized suddenly, as a bright golden glow rose around the two of them, "This isn't the elixir, is it? You and I are...resonating!"


	2. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The elixirs cause the pairs to surrender to the procreation ritual!

"This is...really weird," Ichigo confessed, his voice shaking slightly as he observed Byakuya's calm, peaceful expression, "I don't know how you can take it so easily. But then, you're probably not as calm inside as you look on the outside, ne?"

He picked up a cup of hot green tea from the table and sipped from it.

"No, I am not," Byakuya admitted, "I was thinking that if the size of your zanpakutou is any indication, this could be...extremely uncomfortable."

Ichigo choked at the words, coughing and violently expelling a mouthful of tea.

"What?" he exclaimed, wiping drops of tea from his lips, "That's what you were thinking? Really?"

"Does that surprise you?"

"You're worried about my size?" Ichigo asked, blinking dazedly.

"Aren't you worried about mine?" the noble inquired, matter-of-factly, "I think it's a reasonable concern."

"W-well, yeah," Ichigo chuckled, blushing furiously, "I guess it is. I want to tell you not to worry, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me, you know?"

"Hmmm, though whatever wrong ideas I may have will be corrected very soon."

"Makes you kinda glad for the sedative, huh?"

"I suppose," Byakuya answered, looking down into his teacup, "although, given the mutual loss of our innocence, I don't know if I want to forget."

Ichigo paused at the words considering them carefully, and he moved closer to Byakuya, setting his teacup down on the table.

"Yeah, I guess we think alike on that, because I think it's a pretty special thing too. I wish that this ritual didn't have to interfere with us enjoying something like that."

"I am not saying that I regret that it will be with you," Byakuya clarified, "but that making the choice and choosing the place and time for that exchange is a pivotal moment in one's life."

"I agree," Ichigo said, pausing in front of him and looking into his curious eyes.

He took the tea from Byakuya and set it on the table, then closed the distance between them, sliding his arms slowly around the suddenly frozen Kuchiki heir and bringing their faces close together.

"Relax, okay?" Ichigo whispered into his ear, brushing his cheek against Byakuya's and breathing in the other man's warm, sakura scent, "We'll just take a few moments and get used to being a little closer to each other than we usually get. At least if we do that before whatever they gave us lowers our inhibitions, this will feel more like a choice and less like something we're doing because it's required."

Ichigo went silent as a very gentle golden glow began to rise around them. He sighed softly in resignation, missing completely the surprised and fascinated look that had taken over the Kuchiki heir's expression.

"Damn...guess the elixir works faster than I thought."

"No," Byakuya corrected him, taking Ichigo's curious face in his hands, "This is...not the elixir."

"It's not?" Ichigo queried, "Then, what...?"

"There are in the Kuchiki family archive old texts that I have been working on translating," Byakuya explained, looking deeply into the Shiba heir's enchanted eyes, "Within those tomes are references to how our ancestors used to arrange marriages of the great noble heirs. They would gather in the hall of the king...that place that serves as the entry point into Soul Society when the king leaves his palace and comes here. As you know, the king rarely does so because of the danger to him and also because his power is dangerous to all of us. Anyway, the gathered heirs would approach his majesty's throne, lining up in two rows, facing each other. One by one, they would walk down the aisle, only stopping when a glow like this rose between them."

Ichigo unexpectedly found himself smiling.

"So, if what you're saying is true, we're kind of meant to be together?" he inquired, "Can that be right? I mean...I didn't think of you that way before."

"But when asked to choose a partner for this effort..."

"I chose you," Ichigo whispered, a flush rising on his cheeks as he surrendered to the sudden urge to bring their lips together.

Both men froze and closed their eyes as their lips touched and caressed each other's for several long moments. Byakuya finally broke the contact and met Ichigo's slightly glazed eyes warmly.

"Resonance was considered a gift from the soul king, a promise to the most devoted of his servants and protectors that they were not meant to be alone, nor to be joined in empty, meaningless unions, but that he had made someone for each of them. I am not sure why the practice was abandoned. There are still many pages of text I have yet to translate."

"That's really beautiful," Ichigo sighed, his lips seeking Byakuya's again as he nudged the Kuchiki heir in the direction of the large, comfortable looking bed, "It makes me feel a lot better about all of this."

"I find it reassuring as well," Byakuya agreed, pausing to release the ties on their yukatas, then sliding onto the bed.

Ichigo followed, taking up a position opposite him and remaining on his knees, his eyes fixed dazedly on Byakuya's. The Kuchiki heir slid an arm around him, then captured one of his hands and brought the warm fingertips to his mouth. Ichigo stared, a swell of arousal flaring in his nether region as Byakuya's lips closed around his fingers and he caressed each digit slowly with his unspeakably soft, wet tongue. He extracted the fingers even more slowly, his lips reclaiming Ichigo's as he guided the younger man's hand in a slow descent down the bared front of his body and to his blushing nether region. A fresh wave of Byakuya's lovely sakura scent washed over him, making Ichigo sigh and cling more tightly to the Kuchiki heir as his shaking fingers began to prepare the elder noble. He felt Byakuya flinch and met his eyes apologetically.

"Are you all right?" he asked, blushing, "Sorry, I've never done this."

"It's fine," Byakuya assured him, lowering himself onto his back and spreading his thighs wider to encourage Ichigo to continue, "I merely have to get used to being touched by you. You did not hurt me."

"I'm glad," Ichigo said, looking relieved, "I don't want to hurt you. I feel a little nervous about having taken those elixirs, you know? You said one was a sedative and the other...?"

"Do not worry about that," Byakuya reassured him, "The sedation has taken effect and you should feel your mind relaxing now."

"I don't know," Ichigo sighed anxiously, "I still feel pretty aware and my heart's doing flip-flops."

"Shh," Byakuya said soothingly, curling a palm around the hand that worked slowly at preparing him, "You are resisting the compound, that is all. You must try to let your mind relax, Ichigo. You are not going to hurt me, nor will I hurt you. And we both are at peace with our joining. Look at me. Trust me, please."

Ichigo took an unsteady breath, then released it shakily, closing his eyes and trying to let all of the unsettled feelings leave him as he exhaled. As he inhaled, he opened his eyes again and felt his body relaxing into Byakuya's embrace. The Kuchiki heir gave him a rare, fleeting smile and nodded to indicate his readiness. Ichigo raised himself slightly, catching his breath as Byakuya's hand slipped downward, helping to position him.

Byakuya's hazy eyes widened beautifully as he was penetrated and Ichigo felt a swell of affection that led to a flurry of deep, passionate kisses. He held his hips still as they kissed, waiting as Byakuya's body adjusted to the feel of being filled. He nuzzled the Kuchiki heir's flushed cheek and laced their fingers together. When he finally began to move, Byakuya expelled a lovely, fluttering sigh of surrender that went straight to the Shiba heir's core, teasing his hips into thrusting more deeply, for which he was awarded with a moan of delight from Byakuya.

"F-feels good?" he inquired somewhat dazedly, blinking at the look of approval in the elder shinigami's grey eyes.

"It feels exquisite," Byakuya whispered back, the look on his comely face leaving Ichigo weak and shaky with lust.

He thrust harder into Byakuya's handsome, responsive body, wondering at the affection in the Kuchiki heir's dark eyes, and the beautiful sounds that escaped the two men as they neared climax. It was such a departure from the Kuchiki Byakuya he had first met, a man Ichigo had thought to be colder than ice.

But even then, something told me that there was more to him than that. I couldn't believe he was really like that. I wonder if it was that resonance he was talking about that made me feel that way. I guess we had to travel a long way before realizing this.

_But we're ready now._

_At least I am._

_I wonder if Byakuya feels the same._

But the Kuchiki heir's dark eyes would tell him nothing but that the man was overcome with pleasure at their joining. As they surrendered to the hard shudders of completion, Ichigo closed his eyes and devoured the fierce, panting sounds emitted from between his parted lips. He couldn't stop kissing and exploring that sweet orifice that had once opened only to insult him, but now offered words and sounds of connection, of trust, of something Ichigo thought might be the beginnings of love.

 _But it's always hard to know what he'll do_ , Ichigo mused, collapsing his seed splashed body onto Byakuya's and resting his head on a pale, sweating shoulder, _Still..._

_He really is...beautiful..._

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya blinked in surprise as the young man in front of him seemed to shimmer strangely for a moment, then disappeared altogether and was replaced with a large, beautifully colored fishing cat.

"Oh, are you a Shihoin?" Tetsuya inquired, relaxing slightly, "Your were-form is lovely...erm..."

"Eh, Sh-shihoin Yuushiro," the little wildcat answered, looking up at him through luminous golden eyes, "I am..."

"Ah! You are their leader, ne?" Tetsuya said, remembering the name, "You are Yoruichi-san's younger brother?"

"Yes," Yuushiro said, moving closer.

His eyes blinked slowly and his tail twitched as he moved closer and encountered the gentle scent of sakura. Tetsuya read the beginnings of haziness in the fishing cat's eyes and backed away a step.

"Yuushiro-sama, are you all right?" he inquired, flinching in surprise, then blinking as the soft rumble of purring reached his ears, "I think the elixirs are taking effect. Perhaps you should stay in cat form if you can. At least, if you do, you will not disgrace yourself being with someone who is beneath you."

"But y-you're my resonant," the cat purred, moving closer to him and switching his tail back and forth, "Why would being with my resonant disgrace me?"

"Erm," Tetsuya managed anxiously, "I am..."

The cat lunged forward and Tetsuya's arms opened reflexively. He was sure the cat's claws should have raked his skin, but to his surprise, there was no sting at all as he caught the lovely beast and Yuushiro's furry face nuzzled underneath his chin.

"Oh, I think it's a very good thing you are in your were-form," Tetsuya sighed, blushing as a velvet paw batted playfully at the ends of his hair and the cat's eyes looked amorously into his, "Just imagine."

"But you must feel it too, ne?" Yuushiro insisted, nuzzling closer and purring more loudly.

"I am not even allowed to be here!" Tetsuya exclaimed, "I was only attending my cousin. When my other cousin tried to annoy me, I just came in here to escape him. I wasn't supposed to...and you are a clan leader. This is...impossible, Yuushiro-sama, you must know that!"

"P-pr-r-rowl," the Shihoin cat chuckled, licking Tetsuya's cheek affectionately, "I like you much better than that scary man from the Kuchiki clan."

"The Kuchiki clan?" Tetsuya queried, blushing and turning his head away as the fishing cat rubbed against his face and ran a rough tongue along the line of his jaw, "I know you don't mean Byakuya-sama. He was paired with Shiba Ichigo. It wasn't Kuchiki Orochi, was it?"

"Grrrwll, I don't know," the Shihoin leader confessed, "I only saw him for a moment. But he had cruel black eyes and he looked at me like I was beneath him."

"They paired you with Orochi?" Tetsuya asked, looking alarmed, "That has to be a mistake, Yuushiro-sama! You are so much younger than him...and...you are...a leader. Surely, they would have taken your youth into account and paired you with someone more suitable than him!"

"But don't you understand?" the Shihoin youth asked, placing his paws on Tetsuya's shoulders and nearly touching his soft nose to Tetsuya's as he gazed into the rapt shinigami's blue eyes, "After meeting you, it doesn't matter who they chose. Are you telling me that you don't feel the same?"

"N-no!" Tetsuya exclaimed, reeling as the fishing cat's golden eyes bored down into his, "I do...feel as you do. I saw the signs of resonance, but you know that a half blood will not be accepted, even if we resonate strongly. The practice of allowing resonance to decide matches among the noble elite was abandoned long ago! Probably because of something like this."

Tetsuya gasped as the Shihoin youth's reiatsu swelled around the two of them and everything around them disappeared into a hail of dancing iridescent lights. He blinked and squinted, only slowly realizing that he no longer stood on his feet, but was crouched on the floor and that his body had become smaller and unexpectedly feline. Tetsuya caught his reflection in a full length mirror across the room and would have gasped again, but instead emitted a harsh hissing sound.

"Y-yuushiro-sama!" he exclaimed, "how is this possible? This form is a variant of my waterform, but I can't use my waterform powers in here! And I have never taken the form of a cat!"

"I think I understand," Yuushiro said, rubbing up against Tetsuya affectionately, "Your shikai doesn't work, but my shapeshifting ability is different. And because we resonate, I can use my ability to make you change. Your body couldn't usually transform, but you have also a natural shapeshifting ability, using water. My reiatsu is simply activating yours."

"But Yuushiro-sama, you mustn't!" Tetsuya insisted, trying to back away and finding himself trapped against the wall, "I told you that I am a half blood and was excluded from the ritual!"

"I don't care who they chose and I don't care if you're a half blood," Yuushiro said, nibbling at his ear, "You smell good and you are really soft."

"Well, I'm not usually covered with fur..." Tetsuya interjected, trying to twist free, but only entangling himself more with the other cat.

Yuushiro's face slid down his side and his sniffing nose honed in on Tetsuya's vulnerable posterior. The Shihoin leader yowled wantonly as Tetsuya's scent filled his senses. His golden eyes went hazy and he loosed a playful snarl as he pounced on the other cat and bit down on the back of his neck.

"Y-yuushiro...sama?" Tetsuya said weakly, a powerful twinge passing through him and seeming to paralyze him as the other cat positioned itself behind him.

His mind went blank for a moment and he yowled loudly as Yuushiro bit down more firmly on his neck, then entered him. Tetsuya tried to speak again, but all that could escape him from that point were mingled yowls and hisses of pleasure. He couldn't remember feeling anything more beautiful than that warm weight against his back and the feeling of the other cat's breath tickling his furry neck. Reeling in the wonderful feelings of arousal and teased to the point of near madness, he raised his hips in acceptance and nearly collapsed as Yuushiro's head tilted slightly and his contented purr rumbled in Tetsuya's ear.

 _This is...otherworldly_ , Tetsuya's hazy mind registered, _So this is what a resonance is like. Whatever the cost, it is beautiful. I am so glad that he didn't have to lie with Orochi tonight. I know we will be in trouble when morning comes, but..._

The two were-cats screeched as Yuushiro's body shuddered and he loosed his release into Tetsuya's quaking body. Tetsuya gave a pained groan as they separated, but was more than pleased as Yuushiro wrapped his body warmly around him and licked his face and ears until the two drifted off to sleep.

(A/N** Just a side note...Yuushiro was not actually paired with Orochi. He simply made a mistake in the room assignment. This will play into future events. Just wanted to clarify since it seemed to cause a little confusion! :) New chapter coming soon!)


End file.
